a song for home
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Somewhere, someone was singing. A song calling him home. A song calling Luke home. or In which Luke, Natalia, and Guy relearn one another post-series
1. a song for home

**Title: **a song for returning home

**Prompt: **a song for returning home

**A/N:** For the Tales Big Bang! I took this as an excuse to write my favourite trio Natalia, Luke, and Guy. It's a bit of a slow burn because they're all dense idiots.

**Summary:** _Somewhere, someone was singing. A song calling him home. A song calling Luke home. _

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Somewhere, someone was singing. There was something achingly familiar about it, a memory he could almost but not quite touch. It was a sad song, a lonely song, a song of absence. Of his absence. Yes, that sounded right.

This was a song for Luke. No, a song for him—he was Luke.

At that realization, Luke struggled to get up. To move despite his phantom limbs. He was missing and he had to go back. Back where? Home. He had to go home. To where they were—to where Tear sang as though her heart was breaking and Guy pushed down his own unease and comforted others and Natalia made a strangled sound as she failed to hide her own feelings. He couldn't see them, couldn't hear them, but he knew that that was the case. Luke had to get to them. They were home.

_That was my home_, a bitter voice muttered, cutting through the song.

_Who_, Luke tried to ask, but no sound came out. Nor could he see anything, just a landscape of black darker than the night sky. Even the ground didn't feel real, as though he were floating in the depths of the ocean. Was he dreaming? Was that why he was here, and not with them? Something had happened to him, but he couldn't remember what.

_I always knew you were useless, but I didn't think you were that bad. _A hand grabbed Luke's firmly, a sensation that rippled through his body like an earthquake, and yanked him up. _Now get going. Do something helpful for once._

"I'm not useless," Luke muttered. He covered his mouth, the sound surprised him. It was more solid than the other voice. More real.

_So you can talk. _The hands were on Luke's back now. _You've already taken everything else, you might as well take this too._ Before Luke could say anything, he was shoved.

And just like with his voice, his body suddenly gained a weight to it. His legs started to prick, an electric sensation running up his spine. His arms ached as though they were holding something. Even the darkness was starting to disappear, the black turning grey turning white.

The voice that had been so loud and close, now sounded more like a ghost's. Faintly, just faintly, Luke could make out its final words. _And tell her I'm sorry. I can't keep my promise._

Luke's eyes fluttered open.

He was alive.


	2. haircut

**Title: **haircuts

**Prompt:** when they looked so much alike

**Summary:** _Natalia sighed as she carded through Luke's long locks. It was such a waste that he wanted them cut short._

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"Such a waste," Natalia sighed, carding her hand through Luke's long locks. They were silken, akin to a river of fire flowing of her fingers, and she twisted a strand around her finger. When they were children, she used to braid his hair—but no, that hadn't been Luke. That was a memory she didn't want to linger on, not now. The wound still felt too raw. Letting go, she picked up a comb. "Are you sure you want to cut it?"

Luke leaned back against the chair and shrugged. It was such a Luke move and if she had any doubts before about who'd returned, they were gone now. "I'm used to short hair now. Besides, it's less of a hassle to keep it short. Brushing takes forever."

"You know most people would kill for a chance like yours?" Natalia grumbled, carefully combing Luke's hair. His hair felt nice than hers and she wanted to chalk that up to resurrection magic. "To get a bad haircut and then have their hair regrow? And the hairstyles you can do with it."

"It'd regrow eventuall—wait." Luke scowled as he registered her words. Leaning further back, he raised his jaw and squinted up at her. "Are you saying my haircut was bad?"

"That wasn't the point." Rolling her eyes, Natalia firmly pushed his head back down until he staring straight ahead again. At least he had a good view. It was a warm spring day and the servants had set up an entire hair-cutting station in the garden, including a blanket to collect falling hair. A blanket that pooled around her ankles as she shifted positions, the wind blowing the edges until they curled up at their feet. "And yes, it wasn't great."

"You know I didn't cut it myself, right? Tear did." Luke crossed his arms, his jaw set. Was he pouting again? Natalia marveled at how predictable he was, even after all they'd gone through. This wasn't the first time she'd trimmed her hair and for a second, it felt like they were kids again, bickering as she snipped away the split hairs. "And Guy said it looked good."

Still, she preferred this Luke over the sad Luke after Akzeriuth, the Luke who blamed himself for anything and everything, who thought of himself as nothing but a mistake. The Luke that she had pushed away erroneously, even if it was just for a short while. Gods, she'd been a terrible friend. "And Guy has a terrible sense of fashion."

"Then how come all the girls fawn over him?" Luke pointed out petulantly.

"Because I make sure he's dressed correctly for his station. He's a noble, after all, I can't have him dressed improperly when he visits." Natalia stared at the silver scissors on the table and steeled herself as she picked them up. Well. So long, long-haired Luke. The first snip sounded like a scream and she bemoaned the beautiful red as it fell to the ground. "Also, Guy's…well, he's charming. So he has that at least."

"At least?" Luke's brow knitted as he searched for the insult. "So I'm not charming?"

"Again, not the point." Quieter, she mumbled, "Your charms are different."

"What?" Luke asked, almost turning his head before she stopped him with a forceful hand. "You're going to leave a bruise on my jaw."

"Better than you losing an ear." Natalia clicked her tongue. The red curls at her feet looked like a smouldering fire. "Your hair's…darker than I remembered." She raised a long lock, admiring it in the sunlight. Not quite a brightly burning flame, nor the ashen remains. "It's more like Ashe's—"

"Don't."

She dropped the hair at quiet command. Luke's shoulders were hunched defensively. So it wasn't her imagination then. Luke wasn't quite himself, physically at least. Something had happened in the collapsing tower, happened in the past two years before he'd appeared in that flower field. "Luke."

"Please, Natalia. Don't." His voice sounded brittle, glass about to shatter. A warning not to touch. A plea not to ask. She wondered what his face looked like, if his expression was more like Ashe's jagged edges or Luke's cracked one.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who still felt raw from it all. Biting down the question at the tip of her tongue, Natalia returned to cutting his hair. "I still think this is a waste. You look so much cuter with long hair."

Luke didn't say anything as she prattled on, bemoaning the loss of his hair. Still, by the end of the session, his shoulders were relaxed, and she took that as a victory.


	3. two houses but one home

**Title: **two houses but one home

**Prompt:** when you wake up in the wrong country

**Characters/Pairings:** Guy, Natalia, Luke

**A/N:** I don't think anyone serious believes that Guy's going to live in Malkuth post-game

**Summary:** _If looks could kill, Guy would be dead ten times over by now._

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"You are here again?" As soon as they stepped out into the gardens, away from prying eyes, Natalia dropped her reserved-for-royal-guests smile. Even her voice took on a rougher tone as she crossed her arms and turned to Guy. "What about your region in Malkuth? Do you not have to govern that?"

Well, to be honest, this suited her more than the dignified princess smile that she'd been beaming at him throughout his audience with royal family. Though, no matter how hard she tried to mask her emotions, Guy had felt the daggers in her eyes from the second she'd spotted him. If looks could kill, he'd have been dead at least ten times by now. "Well, they need someone to act as a intermediary between Malkuth and Kimlasca-Landvadier. Peony thought I'd be best, since I stayed here for so long."

"That is true," Natalia agreed, nodding her head. Her skirt swished around her as the wind picked up and she brushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "Those are the very reasons I would have picked you as well. Still, I think you are here more often than you are in your own manor—could not someone else handle something as trivial as handing over a document? Or even send Anise or Jade in your place every now and then?"

Natalia's eyes were on him again, not buying his reasoning at all, and Guy laughed awkwardly. That was the problem with childhood friends—it was almost impossible to lie convincingly to them. Well, maybe to Luke, but Luke had always been especially stupid. Changing tactics, he agreed. "That's a good point." Guy rubbed the back of his head, before shrugging. There was probably nothing he could do without raising her suspicions. "Maybe Peony doesn't want me around?"

"Is it him or you?" Natalia muttered, tapping her thighs with a finger.

Honestly, for a dense idiot, she was all too sharp sometimes. Fortunately, before she could press any further, Guy spotted Luke sitting on a bench, wiping his forehead. Unlike the last time he'd visited, his friend's long mane was chopped in half. "Luke! Your hair is shorter!"

"Guy!" Luke looked over his shoulder and perked up. Bouncing onto his feet, he jogged over to the pair. "Yeah, I had Natalia did it." His voice dropped a notch and he glared at her. "She said my old haircut was terrible. That you didn't have any fashion sense."

Ah, his other favourite royal idiot. Completely reliable as usual. Guy knew he could count on him to change the topic. Taking a deep breath, he covered his heart with his hand and gave Natalia a wounded look. "You said that?"

"I…I…" Flustered, Natalia flushed a dark red. She took a step back. That was the good thing about childhood friends—Guy knew Natalia's weak points and just how to press them. "That is…"

"Oh, you can't repeat it now?" Luke frowned, hands on his hips.

A childish argument; Guy hadn't realized how much he'd missed those until now. How much he'd missed his slightly spoiled friend until he'd turned self-deprecating. It was true what they said, that you didn't realize what you had until it was gone. His manor in Malkuth was too quiet, too empty, and if Guy had asked to take on every little missive to Kimlasca, well, only Peony knew that.

And probably Jade, but that was because he was an ass who knew everything.


	4. paperwork

**Title: **Paperwork

**A/N:** I almost forgot about this with all that's going on! Sorry about that.

**Summary:** _Natalia was used to paperwork, it was the only way she could achieve any of her dreams._

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It was getting late. Sitting in the parlour, Natalia glanced to her right. The lamp flickered softly, the shadow she cast on the wall distorting slightly. Perhaps she should have taken the servants lighting candles as a hint to stop for the day. Only now did she notice how strained her eyes felt, how cramped her hand was. There was only so much paperwork a person was meant to process at a time.

Still, it was fascinating. She looked down at the table once more, at the reams of paper stacked like a mosaic. The treaty between Kimlasca and Malkuth was an ongoing process, a series of complex negotiations and compromises. While it was too important a matter to be left in her hand, she was grateful for her father leaving some tasks to her. This was change on a different scale than opening an orphanage.

She wondered if Ashe could see that she was keeping her side of the promise. A sharp ache tinged in her chest and Natalia closed her eyes. Maybe one day the thought of him wouldn't bring pain, but that day wasn't today.

Just as today wasn't the day this paperwork would be completed. Stretching her arms in front of her, Natalia looked up. "We should call it day."

"Hmm?" From across the table, seated on the opposite couch, Guy chewed on his pen as he looked up blankly at her.

"It is getting late," she explained.

Guy looked at the candles, then at the big grandfather clock. His eyes widened and the pen fell out of his mouth unceremoniously. "Wow, it really is late."

"Yes." She chuckled, covering her mouth with a hand. "I thought you would stop before this point. I did not think you got so interested in paperwork."

"Well…" Guy rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I'm not usually. I mean, I'll do it, but with a lot of breaks in between." He looked at the grandfather clock once more, his brow knitting. "I don't get what went different this time, it's not like it was anymore interesting."

"Isn't it, though?" Picking up one of the contracts, she leafed through it reverently. "We are shaping the future here, dictating how things will be run. The rules of peace. It is important work."

"No, I get that, I do." Guy crossed his arms and cocked his head. "It's just…well, I mean, all these fancy words and elaborate sentences are there just to get someone to sell apples in exchange for wheat. I feel sleepy just looking at them."

"Hmm…" Natalia sighed. Leaning forward, she started to gather her papers, carefully stacking them on top of one another. "Luke is like that too. He always skipped whenever father assigned us a task. Well, that was before…" She paused, holding the collected papers in her hands. Before Ashe died. Before the mine collapsed. Before everything they knew got turned around. Sure, he wasn't one for paperwork now, but it didn't feel like a laziness thing anymore. Gently rapping the papers on the table, she aligned the edges and continued like she hadn't said anything. "Anyways, I do not mind it."

Guy didn't comment on her pause and she was grateful. Instead he rested his cheek on his hand and smiled brightly. "You're amazing."

"Huh?" Natalia almost dropped the papers in response to his unwavering gaze.

"You did this before too, right? For the orphanages and the city works and all that." Guy's expression gentled and she flushed. "While Luke and I were out having fun, you did all the hard work. It's amazing."

If he didn't look somewhere else soon, she was going to combust into flames. Honestly, for a man who flinched at the sight of a girl, he was a natural charmer, to the point that it was almost unnatural. Did he ever hear himself? Coughing, Natalia forced her attention on her pens and the boring task of arranging them. "It is what I am supposed to do."

"And what Luke was supposed to do and what I'm supposed to do now." Guy shook his head. "Don't sell yourself short like that."

Well, maybe there was some truth to his words. It might not be as immediate as fighting villains and travelling the world, but she was making a change. Whether it was her work before or her treaty now. Natalia smiled back at him. "You are right, Guy. Thanks."

"Just stating the truth," he replied easily, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

A bell chimed ten times, interrupting the conversation, and Natalia glanced at the grandfather clock once more. Ten on the hour. It was a little late for dinner, but the servants would have certainly kept something warm. Turning back to Guy, she got up. "We should eat before we actually end up skipping dinner."

"That would be great." Guy turned a bright red as his stomach gurgled. "Yep, definitely going to have dinner now."

Natalia laughed.


End file.
